All Use it with plural or uncountable nouns

All • Use it with plural or uncountable nouns, but NEVER without a noun. All animals need food. All of the people in this group look eager for the weekend. • All = general • All of = specific All students enjoy skipping classes. All of the students in this group enjoy doing homework. • Without a noun, use everyone/everybody or everything (+ a singular verb). Everybody looks eager for the weekend. Everybody has left their umbrellas at home.

Every • Use it with a singular noun, to mean ‘all of a group’. Every city has its problems. • Each and every is possible, as an expression of emphasis: Each and every day I have to sweep the floor. • Every and all can be used in time expressions, with different meanings: Every day = from Monday to Sunday All day = from morning to night

Most • Use it when you mean ‘the majority’. • Use it with plural or uncountable nouns. • Most = general • Most of = specific Most people live in cities. Most of the people in this class are men.

Zero quantity: no, none, any Do you have any vinyl records? • No, I don’t have (-v) any (vinyl records). • No, I have (+v) no vinyl records. • No, I have none. [none = no vynil records] [any (+v) = it doesn’t matter which]

Both • Both [singular] and [singular] + plural verb Both John and Paul were musicians. • When both refers to the subject of a clause it can also come before the main verb. Both John and George played the guitar. John and George both played the guitar.

either. . . or. . . / neither. . . nor. . . • There is some controversy about how to make subject-verb agreement with neither…nor… / either. . . or. . . structures. In general, people seem to consider that the verb agrees with the part of the subject nearest to it (the proximity rule).

either. . . or. . . • Either [singular] or [singular] + singular verb Either John or Paul leads the band. • Either [singular] or [plural] + plural verb Either Johnny or the girls are going to see my e-mail. • Either [plural] or [singular] + singular verb Either the girls or Johnny is going to see my e-mail.

neither. . . nor. . . • Neither [singular] nor [singular] + plural or singular verb Neither John nor Paul was a politician. Neither John nor Paul were politicians. * * This contradicts the ‘proximity’ rule, but your book explicitly says this is also an option.

• All of, most of, none of, any of, either of, neither of are followed by object pronouns (us, you, them): All of us are Brazilians. Most of them are Portuguese. None of them can speak Russian. Any of us can (+v) express sophisticated ideas in English. Neither of us can speak Russian.